Chess in 1999

Garry Kasparov of Russia, the undefeated former world champion under the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE), the world ruling body, proved that he was by far the strongest player in the world with three excellent tournament victories in the first half of 1999, but he refused to take part in the official knockout title contest arranged by FIDE in the U.S. in the summer. This reinforced the ongoing difficulty of answering the question: “Who is the world chess champion?”

Another former world titleholder under FIDE, Anatoly Karpov of Russia, had delayed the arrangements for the knockout contest in Las Vegas, Nev., by claiming that he had a contract with FIDE that guaranteed him a clear two-year reign on the chess throne dating from his victory over Viswanathan Anand of India in January 1998. This provision ruled out any contest in late 1998. Karpov objected to the July–August 1999 arrangement in Las Vegas on the grounds that FIDE had not consulted with him as per his contract; he claimed damages for this and the possible effects of lost income due to the cancellation of his tournament appearances during those months. The release by FIDE on the Internet of a draft letter of reconciliation, purportedly signed by him but which Karpov claimed he had not even seen, led to frosty relations. Karpov’s claims were being studied by a Swiss court in late 1999.

Kasparov had undermined his own position in the ongoing world title dispute by replicating his 1998 failure to play a scheduled World Chess Council (WCC) match against a logical challenger. Just as his match with Spanish challenger Aleksey Shirov fell through in 1998 due to lack of financial support in Spain, so, too, did an arrangement to play Anand in Prague, New York City, or London in October–November 1999. This arrangement induced Anand not to compete at Las Vegas, but unlike Shirov, who had received no money, Anand was reported to have received compensation for his signature on a contract to meet Kasparov in a 16-game contest for a $3 million purse. Continuing claims in the summer that the contest was a “done deal” dealt a blow to WCC prestige, though prospects were still held out that the match might take place in 2000.

Kasparov’s win of the Wijk aan Zee, Neth., tournament in January was very impressive. He scored 10 points out of 13, half a point ahead of Anand. At one stage Kasparov’s margin of victory looked likely to be greater, but a ninth-round loss to Ivan Sokolov of Bosnia and Herzegovina held him back. Then at Linares, Spain, in February–March, he scored 10.5 points out of 14 in a double-round contest to finish two and a half points ahead of Russia’s Vladimir Kramnik and Anand. He was less impressive at the Sarajevo, Bosnia, tournament, in May, which ended with Kasparov taking 7 points out of 10, ahead of Yevgeny Bareyev of Russia and Shirov (both 6) and Alex Morozevich of Russia (5.5).

After all the controversy, the 100 qualifiers at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, where the first round began on July 31, lacked Kasparov, Karpov, Anand, and Morozevich among the world’s elite players. All the seeded players were eliminated earlier than expected, leaving the last four to be called “chess tourists” by Kasparov on his World Wide Web site in view of their low standings on the international rating list. The ultimate winner was 33-year-old Aleksandr Khalifman from St. Petersburg, Russia, who defeated the Armenian Vladimir Akopyan 3.5–2.5 in the final. Khalifman described himself as a semi-amateur, who was more interested in the chess school he ran in his native city than in being active on the international circuit.

In any event, the planned FIDE annual contest along knockout lines could throw up other unconvincing winners, but it might help to break the closed shop that had developed in recent years, as no one outside the top 20 in world rankings stood a chance of being invited to elite tournaments.

The pattern of the future was probably shown by the Microsoft Corp.-sponsored game “Kasparov versus the Rest of the World,” played on the Internet at a rate of one move per day. The competition began in June and lasted longer than expected, until October 23. The response exceeded expectations, but the game was not free from controversy at the end, as a move suggested by Irina Krush, the most impressive of the four moderators advising the Rest, was not posted in time. Two of the moderators withdrew before the majority vote of the World to resign after 62 moves.

Meanwhile, Xie Jun of China regained the FIDE women’s title, defeating Alisa Galyamova of Russia 8.5–6.5. Defending champion Zsuzsa Polgar of Hungary refused to acknowledge the match and threatened to schedule a competing championship. Polgar, who had taken the championship from Xie Jun in 1996 and had made herself available for a defense in 1998, was stripped of the title by FIDE after she requested a six-month delay in her defense following the birth of her son in February 1999.

Chess publishing continued to flourish during the year, and reprints of classic pre-1914 magazines delighted collectors. The British Chess Federation “book of the year” award went to American author John Watson for his Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy—Advances since Nimzowitsch.Nunn’s Chess Openings, a 544-page work with analysis checked by computer programs, was also a tour de force.

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